The 10 Types of People You Find in Expat Facebook Groups
Expats are on the rise. The number of people living abroad is steadily growing and immigrants are constituting a larger piece of the population pie globally.
While our communities comprise hundreds of different nationalities and a million different reasons for leaving home, we all have one thing in common: Expat Facebook Groups. And those Expat Facebook Groups all have 10 people in common. Which one are you?
1. The expat who’s been here too long
This one is pretty much part of the furniture in your expat Facebook group and for them, the magic has long since worn off. They start most posts with something like, “I’ve lived in this country for 14 years and I still can’t understand why…” Choose your own adventure here and insert an entertaining rant about transport, garbage disposal, customer service or the elderly population in your country of choice.
2. The Tumbleweed
Nothing makes you cringe deep within your soul like seeing someone pluck up the courage to ask a question of thousands of strangers and see it go unanswered. Especially when a post like, “I’ve just moved here and I’m looking for some friends!” is met with a resounding chorus of nothing. Ouch.
3. The person asking all the big questions
And by big questions, I mean the questions literally everyone else has already asked and discussed in detail across multiple threads. Hot tip: There is a search box at the top of group pages.
4. The late night over-sharer
Picture this: It’s 3am Sunday morning. You’ve just got home from a night out and you’ve got a story to tell. This story is kind of personal, maybe even a little inappropriate, you’ve got Facebook open on your phone ready to go, now do you:
a) Message a close friend
b) Share a status update with several hundred family, friends and acquaintances on your Facebook
Or
c) Message a public forum of over 10,0000 strangers?
5. The Quiet Observer
Realistically, this is 90% of people in most Facebook groups.
6. The person whose “friend” is suffering an embarrassing medical problem
A distant cousin of the late night over-sharer and a favorite of quiet observers everywhere.
7. The Class Clown
Blessed with an incredible eye for badly translated signs, hilarious outfits, memes and subway shenanigans (No matter where you live in the world, public transportation is always a boon for hilarity). They’re happy to snap and share whatever comedic relief transpires in their day to day life. So for that, we salute you!
8. The Guru
This person is the reason these Facebook groups exist. They’re constantly doling out useful links, updates, tips, and best of all, decoding the mysterious enigma that is foreign white goods.
9. The Troll
This type of troll can pack a heck of a lot of vitriol into a 200 word post. Invariably they incite a tirade of heated commentary before the whole thing is swept under the rug by the admin.
10. Hundreds of people who make moving overseas that much easier
Expat groups are a fantastic resource of information, advice, laughs and light-hearted pick-me-ups. They make moving to a foreign country that much easier and while a lot can be said about the ills of social media, we’re incredibly lucky to live in an age where fellow expats and locals in our new homes are just one click away!